Thinking ahead to the next academic year? School visits to Parliament are incredibly popular and whilst availability for the spring and summer terms is incredibly limited, their booking day for the autumn term is not until Friday 28th April, giving you plenty of time to plan ahead to next year.
Parliament offer a variety of workshops, some term specific and some running all year round. A particularly interesting one is their ‘Laws and Debating Tour and Workshop’ which looks at how the UK Parliament makes laws and the part debating plays along the legislation process. The workshop is open for pupils in years 3-13, with the workshop adapted depending on age. The visit starts with a tour of the Houses of Parliament, which may include the House of Commons or House of Lords chambers, a visit to the public gallery to observe MPs or Lords working, Westminster Hall and the Central Lobby which forms the heart of the Parliamentary Estate. Please note that as Parliament is a working building, the tour will vary depending on available access on the day.
For school years 3-6, the workshop involves pupils coming up with ideas for bills and simulates the process of passing one of these bills into law through active role play. Year 7-11 focus on what makes a debate effective, with group work and video analysis enabling pupils to draw out successful debating techniques. It very much focuses on teaching pupils how to form arguments, present ideas and respond to challenges. Years 12-13 focus on how the public, MPs, Peers and the monarch shape our laws and pupils evaluate the role played by Parliamentary processes, including the committee stage.
Additionally, your school’s constituency MP will be informed of your visit and if available on the day, they will be invited along to meet pupils and answer any questions. The duration of the tour and workshop is two hours and 15 minutes and is limited to 32 places per session (to include pupils and adults). For pupils who may be anxious about visiting Parliament, they offer a downloadable visit story that enables teachers to go through the visit in advance. To download this and for further details on the workshop and how to book on 28th April, see here.
If you are successful in securing a place on one of these fantastic workshops, you may find HandsamSchoolTripsAdvisor’s guidance ‘Walking with your Class in a City Environment’ helpful for your trip to London. Additionally, see our extensive guidance on planning school trips.
